The Black Phone: Movie Review
Hello dear reader!
I just had an amazing weekend hosting the 90s live reading event for Ahh! That’s What I Call Horror! This amazing book of 90s horror tales goes live this Wednesday, so grab your pre-orders now!
The story I wrote for that anthology is pretty unique compared to my other writing (plus there’s a little extra surprise woven in with it) so check it out and let me know what you think!
Now onto the review! There is a spoiler-line below my signature, at the end of this post, please avoid that if you haven’t watched the movie yet!
The Movie
Based on a story by Joe Hill, The Black Phone is a 2021 horror film directed by Scott Derrickson and stars Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone, and Ethan Hawke.
The film is set in the 1970s, when a Denver suburb is being terrorized by a serial child abductor and murderer called “The Grabber.” Main characters and siblings, Finney and Gwen live in the area and end up face to face with the horror when Finney is kidnapped.
Stuck in a creepy sound-proof basement, Finney starts experiencing the supernatural when the disconnected black phone in his prison cell begins to ring. At the same time, his sister is searching for him, guided by her psychic dreams.
The Review
Being upfront, the immense hype around this movie actually made me delay watching it because I thought my expectations would get too high and then I’d be disappointed. I finally watched last weekend and was surprised!
The movie wasn’t mindblowing but I did enjoy it a lot!
I like the cinematography, which fit the time the movie was set in. I liked the way the supernatural elements were handles and the details spent on the antagonist’s mask and behaviour (stand out performance by Ethan Hawke, so creepy.) The actors/actresses did an amazing job with their characters, the pacing was just right so I didn’t lose interest, and overall I had a good time.
At the same time, the movie didn’t inspire any overwhelming sense of dread or horror in me. There were definitely tense moments but it wasn’t super scary. I also had some annoyances with a subplot, but that’s below the spoiler-line. So, overall, I enjoyed it but it isn’t going on my favourite movie list.
6/10
x PLM
SPOILER LINE! BEWARE!
SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD!
The main subplot of the movie is about the little sister and her psychic dreams. While her brother struggles to escape, she is trying to tap into her power to find him. In the end, she gets there just as he manages to kill The Grabber and escape himself.
Her subplot just felt…futile, I guess? Nothing about the plot would have changed if her character had been cut. I guess she was just there to fill in some time, or … I actually don’t know. I think her character was so intriguing, I would have loved to see her actually have an effect on the events. Like for her actions actually do something.
Instead, we follow her struggling, then she gets the police to the wrong house, and her brother gets out of the actual house. I waited the whole movie for her to do something, to help in some way.
Oh well. I guess it’s a minor grievance. If you watched it, what did you think? Let me know
